The Violin Channel recently caught up with the Philadelphia-based VC Artists Dover Quartet.

In a VC-exclusive blog, Dover cellist Camden Shaw discusses some of the biggest chamber music lessons the award-winning ensemble have learnt outside of school.

“After nearly 10 years in the Dover Quartet, I’ve learned a few things about making music that I now find indispensable – things that are never talked about in school. There are too many lessons to choose from, in all sorts of arenas – but I’ve chosen here to focus on three ways to ensure a rehearsal is effective. You’ll notice that these elements work in a circle: each will lead to the next and be informed by the one before. (Surprise surprise… like any other profession, it’s all about PEOPLE.)

LESSON 1: TREAT EVERY DISAGREEMENT AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN

How often have you suggested something in rehearsal only to have it shot down immediately? Whenever someone’s ideas are dismissed without consideration, it is extremely destructive, in two ways:

1. It is symptomatic inflexible thinking. This will prevent musicians from learning and growing over time. If your first instinct becomes “I disagree,” you’re in trouble.

2. It makes the idea’s originator feel stupid, disrespected, insecure, and eventually, bitter, if your group is lucky enough to be together for years.

Whenever someone suggests an idea, DO NOT ALLOW yourself to dismiss it instantly. Instead, train yourself to think: “what can I learn from this point of view?” You may never agree with the new idea, but if you automatically disregard your colleagues’ imaginations, you will stunt your own growth.

LESSON 2: PICK YOUR “BATTLES”

If you have followed the advice in Lesson 1, you have been open minded and made your fellow musicians feel heard and respected. That will ALREADY make them much more likely to want to treat your ideas with the same respect. Still, on occasion, you may be outvoted on something that means a great deal to you. In these cases, (as long as you heed Lesson 3!) it’s alright to dig in.

I recommend a “dig in” to open-mindedness ratio of 1:10. If you dig in on every issue, it will not carry much weight, because it is the norm for your behavior. Instead, if you’re usually very open to possibilities, it will really mean something when you don’t want to budge. (Keep in mind, this doesn’t mean you’ll get what you want only 10% of the time: if your rehearsal atmosphere has been cultivated well, your colleagues will already agree with many of your suggestions.)

LESSON 3: NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF KINDNESS

This is the biggest lesson of all, and of course it applies to life itself, not just to music. The way you make someone feel when you interact with them has about 5x more sway over their chances of agreeing with you than the quality of your idea.

I used to think that, as we got older, the Quartet would drop the stupid, time-wasting politeness in rehearsal, and just say what you think, unvarnished. After all, so much time is wasted being polite, right? But … you know what REALLY wastes time? Arguing. Arguing wastes SO. MUCH. TIME. The worst, and longest arguments I’ve ever been witness to in the last 10 years were not ultimately about music- they were about insecurity. When we’re made to feel insecure, we fight more. So you know what? A little kindness goes a long way. And it doesn’t mean you have to be “fake.” After all, if you consider kindness “fake” you may want to examine whether you think you’re a good person.

#micdrop

Happy, kind rehearsing to you all!

-Camden”

The Philadelphia-basedDover Quartethave firmly established themselves as one of the most in-demand young, chamber ensembles to emerge internationally in recent years | Formed at the Curtis Institute of Music and comprising violinistsJoel LinkandBryan Lee, violistMilena Pajaro-Van de Stadtand cellistCamden Shaw, the Dover are former top prize winners at the Fischoff, Wigmore Hall and Banff International String Quartet Competitions – and recent recipients of the prestigious Cleveland Quartet Award and the Lincoln Center ‘Hunt Family’ prize, for outstanding achievement

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 18 | We’re here this evening at the NYU Skirball Center for Performing Arts in New York City for a live taping of actor Alec Baldwin’s celebrated ‘Here’s the Thing’ podcast - with superstar violinist Itzhak Perlman | Presented by WNYC and WQXR, tonight’s program includes an intimate conversation between the famed actor and violin virtuoso - plus a special performance by students from The Perlman Music Program

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 18 | We’re here this evening at the NYU Skirball Center for Performing Arts in New York City for a live taping of actor Alec Baldwin’s celebrated ‘Here’s the Thing’ podcast - with superstar violinist Itzhak Perlman | Presented by WNYC and WQXR, tonight’s program includes an intimate conversation between the famed actor and violin virtuoso - plus a special performance by students from The Perlman Music Program

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 18 | We’re here this evening at the NYU Skirball Center for Performing Arts in New York City for a live taping of actor Alec Baldwin’s celebrated ‘Here’s the Thing’ podcast - with superstar violinist Itzhak Perlman | Presented by WNYC and WQXR, tonight’s program includes an intimate conversation between the famed actor and violin virtuoso - plus a special performance by students from The Perlman Music Program

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - FEBRUARY 17 | We’re coming to you from the Curtis Institute of Music, in Philadelphia, this afternoon for a masterclass with Orion String Quartet cellist Timothy Eddy | Presented by the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Timothy today working through the details of Elgar’s Cello Concerto with Curtis Institute student, Oliver Herbert - Cellist

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 15 | We’re coming to you from the Manhattan School of Music, in New York City this afternoon for a masterclass with Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Concertmaster, Vesko Eschkenazy | Working through the details today of the 1st movement of Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 4 in D Major - with Manhattan School student, violinist Ahra Cho

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 15 | We’re coming to you from the Manhattan School of Music, in New York City this afternoon for a masterclass with Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Concertmaster, Vesko Eschkenazy | Working through the details today of the 1st movement of Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 4 in D Major - with Manhattan School student, violinist Ahra Cho

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 15 | We’re coming to you from the Colburn School in Los Angeles this afternoon for a special performance and student Q&A session with the VC Artist Dover Quartet

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 15 | We’re coming to you from the Colburn School in Los Angeles this afternoon for a special performance and student Q&A session with the VC Artist Dover Quartet

LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 15 | We’re at Wigmore Hall in London this evening for a very special Razumovsky Academy Young Artists Recital | Founded by cellist Oleg Kogan, the Razumovsky Academy provides an environment in which gifted young musicians are given the opportunity to collaborate closely with some of the world’s finest artists and teachers | Tonight’s program featuring student violinists SongHa Choi, Coco Tomita and Claire Wells - with acclaimed Russian pianist Olga Sitkovetsky

LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 15 | We’re at Wigmore Hall in London this evening for a very special Razumovsky Academy Young Artists Recital | Founded by cellist Oleg Kogan, the Razumovsky Academy provides an environment in which gifted young musicians are given the opportunity to collaborate closely with some of the world’s finest artists and teachers | Tonight’s program featuring student violinists SongHa Choi, Coco Tomita and Claire Wells - with acclaimed Russian pianist Olga Sitkovetsky

HELSINK, FINLAND - FEBRUARY 13 | We’re coming to you from the 1st International CelloFest in Helsinki, Finland this week | Founded by cellists Martti Rousi and Laura Martin in collaboration with The Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki, today’s programme featuring a masterclass with Stockholm University School of Music Professor, Ola Karlsson on the great orchestral cello solos

HELSINK, FINLAND - FEBRUARY 13 | We’re coming to you from the 1st International CelloFest in Helsinki, Finland this week | Founded by cellists Martti Rousi and Laura Martin in collaboration with The Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki, today’s programme featuring a masterclass with Stockholm University School of Music Professor, Ola Karlsson on the great orchestral cello solos

BLONAY, SWITZERLAND - FEBRUARY 13 | We’re coming from the ‘Triple Viola Masterclasses’ at the Hindemith-Institut in Blonay, Switzerland this week | High in the Swiss alps and overlooking lake Geneva, this week’s intensive solo viola repertoire sessions led by viola Professors Nobuko Imai, Peijun Xu and Veit Benedikt Hertenstein

BLONAY, SWITZERLAND - FEBRUARY 13 | We’re coming from the ‘Triple Viola Masterclasses’ at the Hindemith-Institut in Blonay, Switzerland this week | High in the Swiss alps and overlooking lake Geneva, this week’s intensive solo viola repertoire sessions led by viola Professors Nobuko Imai, Peijun Xu and Veit Benedikt Hertenstein

HELSINKI, FINLAND - FEBRUARY 11 | We’re coming to you from the 1st International CelloFest in Helsinki, Finland this week | Founded by cellists Martti Rousi and Laura Martin in collaboration with The Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki, today’s programme featuring a student masterclass with acclaimed French cello baroque specialist Bruno Cocset

HELSINKI, FINLAND - FEBRUARY 11 | We’re coming to you from the 1st International CelloFest in Helsinki, Finland this week | Cellists Jian Wang, VC Young Artist Jonathan Roozeman - Cellist and Alexander Warenberg and pianist Mikael Kemppainen hard at work on the details of David Popper’s ‘Requiem’ for 3 Cellos and Piano

HELSINKI, FINLAND - FEBRUARY 11 | We’re coming to you from the 1st International CelloFest in Helsinki, Finland this week | Founded by cellists Martti Rousi and Laura Martin in collaboration with The Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki, today’s programme featuring 17-year-old American cellist Sujari Britt performing Bach’s 1st Solo Cello Suite

HELSINKI, FINLAND - FEBRUARY 11 | We’re coming to you from the 1st International CelloFest in Helsinki, Finland this week | Founded by cellists Martti Rousi and Laura Martin in collaboration with The Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki, today’s programme featuring a matinée performance of Bach’s 3rd Cello Suite by VC Young Artist Aurélien Pascal

HELSINKI, FINLAND - FEBRUARY 11 | We’re coming to you from the 1st International CelloFest in Helsinki, Finland this week | Founded by cellists Martti Rousi and Laura Martin in collaboration with The Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki, today’s programme featuring a student masterclass with acclaimed French cello baroque specialist Bruno Cocset

HELSINKI, FINLAND - FEBRUARY 11 | We’re coming to you from the 1st International CelloFest in Helsinki, Finland this week | Founded by cellists Martti Rousi and Laura Martin in collaboration with The Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki, University of the Arts Helsinki, today’s programme featuring a matinée performance of Bach’s 4th Cello Suite by 18-year-old Italian cellist Luca Giovannini

HELSINKI, FINLAND - FEBRUARY 11 | We’re coming to you from the 1st International CelloFest in Helsinki, Finland this week | Founded by cellists Martti Rousi and Laura Martin in collaboration with The Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki, today’s programme featuring a matinée performance of Bach’s 3rd Cello Suite by VC Young Artist Aurélien Pascal

HELSINKI, FINLAND - FEBRUARY 11 | We’re coming to you from the 1st International CelloFest in Helsinki, Finland this week | Founded by cellists Martti Rousi and Laura Martin in collaboration with The Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki, University of the Arts Helsinki, today’s programme featuring a matinée performance of Bach’s 4th Cello Suite by 18-year-old Italian cellist Luca Giovannini

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 10 | We’re coming to you from the Microsoft Theater in downtown Los Angeles today for the 2019 61st Annual Classical Music Grammy Awards Ceremony | The 2019 Grammy for the ‘Best Orchestral Performance’ awarded to conductor Andris Nelsons and the Boston Symphony Orchestra Orchestra for their recording of ‘Shostakovich Symphonies No 4 & 11’ on the Deutsche Grammophon label

VC BACKSTAGE

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 18 | We’re here this evening at the NYU Skirball Center for Performing Arts in New York City for a live taping of actor Alec Baldwin’s celebrated ‘Here’s the Thing’ podcast - with superstar violinist Itzhak Perlman | Presented by WNYC and WQXR, tonight’s program includes an intimate conversation between the famed actor and violin virtuoso - plus a special performance by students from The Perlman Music Program

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 18 | We’re here this evening at the NYU Skirball Center for Performing Arts in New York City for a live taping of actor Alec Baldwin’s celebrated ‘Here’s the Thing’ podcast - with superstar violinist Itzhak Perlman | Presented by WNYC and WQXR, tonight’s program includes an intimate conversation between the famed actor and violin virtuoso - plus a special performance by students from The Perlman Music Program

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS - FEBRUARY 16 | We’re coming to you from the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) Convention, in San Antonio, this week | The Bam Cases team on-hand this week to assist with all instrument case enquiries

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS - FEBRUARY 16 | We’re coming to you from the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) Convention, in San Antonio, this week | Over 29,000 music teachers from all around the world in attendence this week - for best professional development workshops and exhibits of the latest music education products and services

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS - FEBRUARY 16 | We’re coming to you from the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) Convention, in San Antonio, this week | Over 29,000 music teachers from all around the world in attendence this week - for best professional development workshops and exhibits of the latest music education products and services

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS - FEBRUARY 16 | We’re coming to you from the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) Convention, in San Antonio, this week | Over 29,000 music teachers from all around the world in attendence this week - for best professional development workshops and exhibits of the latest music education products and services

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS - FEBRUARY 16 | We’re coming to you from the Texas Music Educators Association(TMEA) Convention, in San Antonio, this week | The Thomastik-Infeld team on-hand this week to assist with all string enquiries

LONDON, U.K. - FEBRUARY 15 | We’re at Wigmore Hall in London this evening for a very special Razumovsky Academy Young Artists Recital | Founded by cellist Oleg Kogan, the Razumovsky Academy provides an environment in which gifted young musicians are given the opportunity to collaborate closely with some of the world’s finest artists and teachers | Tonight’s program featuring student violinists SongHa Choi, Coco Tomita and Claire Wells - with acclaimed Russian pianist Olga Sitkovetsky

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 10 | We’re coming to you from the Microsoft Theater in downtown Los Angeles today for the 2019 61st Annual Classical Music Grammy Awards Ceremony | VC Artists Ariana and Ayane from the Aizuri Quartet nervously awaiting the announcements | The VC Artist Aizuri Quartet are today nominated for the ‘Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance’ Grammy for their newly-released album ‘Blueprinting’ | Good luck girls!!

NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 7 | Backstage at David Geffen Hall in New York City with VC Artist Bomsori Kim 김봄소리 and her entire #TeamBomsori management team from Liu Kotow International Management & Promotion and Kirshbaum Associates - following her successful debut performance with the New York Philharmonic this evening | Tonight’s ‘Lunar New Year’ celebration, led by conductor Kahchun Wong, featuring Li Huanzhi’s ‘Spring Festival Overture’, the US Premiere of acclaimed Chinese composer Tan Dun’s Violin Concerto ‘Fire Ritual’ - and Stravinsky’s ‘Fire Bird Suite

NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 7 | Backstage at David Geffen Hall in New York City with VC Artist Bomsori Kim 김봄소리 and her entire #TeamBomsori management team from Liu Kotow International Management & Promotion and Kirshbaum Associates - following her successful debut performance with the New York Philharmonic this evening | Tonight’s ‘Lunar New Year’ celebration, led by conductor Kahchun Wong, featuring Li Huanzhi’s ‘Spring Festival Overture’, the US Premiere of acclaimed Chinese composer Tan Dun’s Violin Concerto ‘Fire Ritual’ - and Stravinsky’s ‘Fire Bird Suite

NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 3 | We’re at Carnegie Hall in New York City this afternoon with superstar violinist Itzhak Perlman, Maestro Yoel Levi and the Israel Philharmonic - התזמורת הפילהרמונית הישראלית | Presented by the American Friends of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, today’s program featuring Pártos’ ‘Concertino for Strings’, Beethoven’s G Major and F Major ‘Romances’, Kreisler’s ‘Liebesleid’ and John Williams’ ‘Theme from Schindler’s List - plus Tchaikovsky’s majestic 6th Symphony

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 30 | Prodigious performance today at The Morgan Library & Museum in New York City by 18-year-old South Korean VC Young Artist Violinist SooBeen Lee with pianist Dina Vainshtein | Presented by the Young Concert Artists, today’s program featuring Beethoven’s Violin Sonata No. 8 in G Major, Bartok’s ‘Rhapsody’ No. 1 and Saint-Saens Violin Sonata in D Minor (Pictured with Young Concert Artists Founder, Susan Wadsworth)

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - JANUARY 28 | We’re coming to you from Philadelphia’s The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts today for the final dress rehearsal with conductors Zhang Liang and Kensho Watanabe - with combined members of both The Philadelphia Orchestra and the Shanghai Philharmonic | This evening the two conductors will perform side-by-side in a special ‘Chinese New Year’ performance to celebrate the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the United States and China

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - JANUARY 28 | We’re coming to you from Philadelphia’s The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts today for the final dress rehearsal with conductors Zhang Liang and Kensho Watanabe - with combined members of both The Philadelphia Orchestra and the Shanghai Philharmonic | This evening the two conductors will perform side-by-side in a special ‘Chinese New Year’ performance to celebrate the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the United States and China

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - JANUARY 28 | We’re coming to you from Philadelphia’s The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts today for the final dress rehearsal with conductors Zhang Liang and Kensho Watanabe - with combined members of both The Philadelphia Orchestra and the Shanghai Philharmonic | This evening the two conductors will perform side-by-side in a special ‘Chinese New Year’ performance to celebrate the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the United States and China

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - JANUARY 28 | We’re coming to you from Philadelphia’s The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts today for the final dress rehearsal with conductors Zhang Liang and Kensho Watanabe - with combined members of both The Philadelphia Orchestra and the Shanghai Philharmonic | This evening the two conductors will perform side-by-side in a special ‘Chinese New Year’ performance to celebrate the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the United States and China

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - JANUARY 28 | We’re coming to you from Philadelphia’s The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts today for the final dress rehearsal with conductors Zhang Liang and Kensho Watanabe - with combined members of both The Philadelphia Orchestra and the Shanghai Philharmonic | This evening the two conductors will perform side-by-side in a special ‘Chinese New Year’ performance to celebrate the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the United States and China